Olmec Portrait Mask
Brief Identification Discovered at the bottom of the Río Pesquero in Veracruz, Mexico, this jadeite portrait mask was crafted by the Olmec civilization during the Middle Formative Period from 900 to 600 B.C.E. This mask, along with others of its kind, are believed to have been used either for ritual purposes or as a status symbol by the social elite. These types of masks, referred to as "portrait" masks, were not made to be worn over the face as a costume. Rather, they were worn as an ornament, as indicated by the holes drilled through each side. Museum of Fine Arts Boston, "Portrait Mask," https://www.mfa.org/collections/object/portrait-mask-36451 Technical Evaluation Given the difficulties presented by the mask's material, jadeite (one of two forms of jade), this mask represents a highly advanced level of craftsmanship. Jadeite, as opposed to many types of stone, cannot be chiseled, since doing so will result in the fracture of the material. Rather, jadeite must be carved through the slow process of drilling, which in the case of the Olmecs involved utilizing sand as an abrasive, along with an iron bit Clark, Coleman 2013. The raw material used in the mask was most likely imported from further south in Central America Thompson 1969, 478-480. This mask, along with a collection of other masks and jadeite offerings, was discovered in the Río Pesquero in Veracruz, Mexico. Local Historical Context The Olmec civilization which created this mask was a heavily agrarian society. This, along with the fertility of the region, allowed the Olmecs to develop an urbanized society, in which skilled artisans such as those who made masks like this one worked within the cities, all ruled by a powerful class of elites. This elite class was the main source of the newfound demand for luxury goods, such as jadeite masks Pool 2007, 20-29. Masks such as these were used both for ritual and as a luxury good separating the elite from the masses. Evidence for masks' ritual use can be seen in the color of this mask itself. Rather than being the vibrant green of natural jadeite, this mask is a grey tone as a result of the thin layer of carbon covering the surface. This means that this mask was placed within a fire, most likely as part of a ritual. Many similar masks, along with jadeite artifacts ranging from beads to ax heads have been found within burial sites, indicating that these masks were important in marking the divide between the elite and the lower classes Clark, Coleman 2013. These masks commonly depict either a person such as a ruler, as is most likely the case with this mask, or a spiritual figure, such as the jaguar. This allows the ruling class who can afford such items to create a symbolic restriction of access to spirits and ancestors. This method of, "indicating that access to the supernatural was not through independent societies but through the ruler and aristocracy," allows the elite to control the populace not only through economic and military power, but also by controlling their spirituality Pasztory 2000, 270. World-Historical Significance Among the most telling characteristics of this artifact is its material. Jadeite was not found locally within Olmec territories, having to be imported from regions far to the south. This shows that the Olmec civilization had an elite class with the power to run trade caravans far outside their territory, an expensive endeavor at any time period. Additionally, the presence of the trade itself points to the fact that the Olmecs had a merchant and artisan class in addition to the agrarian and the elite classes Pool 151. This corresponds with an increase in trade and societal advance throughout the Mesoamerican world. The intricacies of working jade also point to the advanced nature of Olmec society. In addition to the iron tools necessary to produce jade works, the process itself of working jade takes a very long time Thompson 1969, 478-480. This means that the Olmecs had an economy within which people were able to specialize, rather than having every member of society produce everything that they need. The jadeite trade in Mesoamerica bears a striking resemblance to the Chinese trade in nephrite jade, though the latter began far earlier. Both of these civilizations utilized jade as a status symbol, representing the huge power the elites had over the masses, and jade is even found in the same locations in both societies' archaeological sites: tombs. ThoughtCo, "Importance of Jade in Chinese Culture," https://www.thoughtco.com/about-jade-culture-629197 Similarly to how the Chinese traded nephrite works with the Persians, the Olmecs traded jadeite with the Mayans [see Bibliography Clark, John E., and Arlene Colman. “2 Olmec Things and Identity: A Reassessment of Offerings and Burials at La Venta, Tabasco.” Archeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association 23, no. 1 (March 2013): 14. Thompson, J. Eric S. "An Olmec Mask from the Maya Lowlands." American Antiquity 34, no. 4 (1969): 478-80. doi:10.2307/277747. Pool, Christopher. Olmec Archaeology and Early Mesoamerica. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007. Pasztory, Esther. "The Portrait and the Mask: Invention and Translation." Studies in the History of Art 58 (2000): 264-75. Colas, Pierre Robert. "Cover: New Olmec Mask Discovered." Mexicon 24, no. 5 (2002): 85-86. Category:Olmec Category:Mesoamerica Category:Stone Category:Mask